1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to an electronic mail system for transmission and reception of an electronic mail and a storage medium storing a program for electronic mail processing in transmission and reception of an electronic mail.
2. Background Art
An electronic mail system for transmission and reception of an electronic mail has widely been spread in the society together with the rapidly increasing utilization of an electronic mail through an Internet and a personal computer communication network. In conventional electronic mail systems, there has been available a service in which a transmitter is noticed of the absence of a receiver to whom an electronic mail is transmitted. Therefore, the transmitter can confirm whether or not a transmitted electronic mail has reached the receiver.
However, among electronic mails there is one which has to be urgently delivered to a receiver who leaves from a computer. In such a case, there is a problem that the electronic mail cannot be delivered to the receiver unless either whereabouts of the receiver or an emergency contact place thereof is known. On the other hand, if the emergency contact place is noticed to all who are concerned with the receiver, there is a problem that inconveniences frequently arise in the receiver""s privacy and other aspects.
It is an object of the present invention to facilitate a receiver to be delivered an electronic mail of emergency when the receiver is absent without any inconvenience occurred to the receiver in terms of privacy and other aspects.
According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an electronic mail system comprising:
mail receiving means for receiving an electronic mail;
absence mode setting means for setting an absence mode indicating the state of absence of a receiver of the electronic mail;
mail transmitting means for transmitting a predetermined fixed form mail responding to a first electronic mail received by the mail receiving means in the absence mode; and
control means for making the mail transmitting means to transmit the predetermined fixed form mail when the control means determines that a second electronic mail from a receiver responding to the predetermined fixed form mail satisfies a specific condition.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided an electronic mail system comprising:
mail receiving means for receiving an electronic mail;
absence mode setting means for setting an absence mode indicating the state of absence of a receiver of the electronic mail;
mail transmitting means for transmitting a predetermined fixed form mail responding to a first electronic mail received by the mail receiving means in the absence mode; and
mail transfer means for making the mail transmitting means to transfer the first electronic mail to a predetermined address when the mail receiving means receives a second electronic mail responding to the predetermined fixed form mail from the receiver and when the mail transfer means determines that the second electronic mail satisfies a specific condition.
According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided an electronic mail system comprising:
mail storage means for storing a plurality of fixed form mails;
mail receiving means for receiving an electronic mail;
address designating means for designating an address of a specific receiver;
mail determining means for determining whether or not a transmitter address of the received electronic mail is an address designated by the address designating means when it detects that the electronic mail is received by the mail receiving means;
mail selecting means for selecting one of the fixed form mails from the mail storage means based on a determination result by the mail determining means; and
mail transmitting means for transmitting the fixed form mail selected by the mail selecting means to the same address as a transmitter address of the received electronic mail.
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an electronic mail system comprising:
mail storage means for storing a plurality of fixed form mails;
mail receiving means for receiving an electronic mail;
mail determining means for determining whether or not identification information is included in the electronic mail when it detects that the electronic mail is received by the mail receiving means;
mail selecting means for selecting one of fixed form mails stored in the mail storage means based on a determination result by the mail determining means; and
mail transmitting means for transmitting the fixed form mail selected by the mail selecting means to the same address as a transmitter address of the received electronic mail.
According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an electronic mail system comprising:
mail receiving means for receiving an electronic mail;
address designating means for designating an address of a specific receiver;
mail determining means for determining whether or not a transmitter address of the received electronic mail is the address designated by the address designating means when it detects that the electronic mail is received by the mail receiving means;
mail transmitting means for transmitting a fixed form mail to the same address as the transmitter address of the received electronic mail when a determination result by the mail determining means is not the designated address; and
mail transfer means for transferring the received electronic mail to a predetermined address when a determination result by the mail determining means is the designated address.
According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an electronic mail system comprising:
mail receiving means for receiving an electronic mail;
mail determining means for determining whether or not a password is included in the electronic mail when it detects that the electronic mail is received by the mail receiving means;
mail transmitting means for transmitting a fixed form mail to the same address as a transmitter address of the received electronic mail when the mail determining means determines that the password is not included; and
mail transfer means for transferring the received electronic mail to a predetermined address when the mail determining means determines that the password is included.
According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided an electronic mail system comprising:
mail receiving means for receiving an electronic mail;
date and time setting means for setting a specific period of time;
reception date and time determining means for determining whether or not the electronic mail is received during the specific period of time by the mail receiving means;
mail determining means for determining whether or not the electronic mail which is determined to be received during the specific period of time by the reception date and time determining means is a response date and time designated mail which designates the response date and time;
response date and time determining means for determining whether or not the response date and time is in the specific period of time when the electronic mail is determined to be the response date and time designated mail by the mail determining means; and
mail transmitting means for transmitting a response mail requesting for a change of the response date and time to a different response data and time except the specific period of time when the response date and time which is determined by the response date and time determining means is in the specific period of time.
According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an electronic mail system comprising:
mail receiving means for receiving an electronic mail;
date and time setting means for setting a specific period of time;
reception date and time determining means for determining whether or not the electronic mail is received by the mail receiving means in the specific period of time;
mail determining means for determining whether or not the electronic mail which is determined to be received by the reception date and time determining means in the specific period of time is a response date and time designated mail which designates the response date and time;
response date and time determining means for determining whether or not the response date and time is in the designated period of time when the electronic mail is determined to be the response date and time designated mail by the mail determining means;
mail transmitting means for transmitting a request for a change mail requesting for a change in the response date and time to a different response data and time except the specific period of time when the response date and time which is determined by the response date and time determining means is in the specific period of time;
date and time changing means for changing the response date and time of the response date and time designated mail when the mail receiving means receives a response mail which indicates acceptance of the request for change after the request for change mail is transmitted by the mail transmitting means; and
mail transfer means for transferring the response date and time designated mail to a predetermined address when the mail receiving means receives a response mail which refuses the request for change after the request for change mail is transmitted by the mail transmitting means.
According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an electronic mail system comprising:
mail receiving means for receiving an electronic mail;
absence setting means for setting an apparatus operation in an absence mode;
fixed form mail storage means for storing a plurality of fixed form mails;
mail determining means for determining attributes of the received electronic mail when the mail receiving means receives the electronic mail in the absence mode;
mail selecting means for selecting one of fixed form mails stored in the mail storage means corresponding to the attributes determined by the mail determining means from; and
automatic response means for transmitting the fixed form mail selected by the mail selecting means in response to the same address as a transmitter of the received electronic mail.
According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an electronic mail system comprising:
mail receiving means for receiving an electronic mail;
absence setting means for setting an apparatus operation in an absence mode;
absence notice creation means for creating a plurality of response conditions for determining whether or not an absence notice is issued and absence notices having a content corresponding to the plurality of response conditions;
fixed form mail storage means for storing a plurality of response conditions created by the absence notice creation means and a plurality of fixed form mails, one constituting the absence notice corresponding to the plurality of response conditions;
mail attribute determined means for determining which plurality of response conditions stored in the fixed form mail storage means attributes of the received electronic mail satisfy when the mail receiving means receives the electronic mail in the absence mode; and
absence notice transmitting means for selecting one of fixed form mails stored in the mail storage means having a content corresponding to satisfied response conditions to read the fixed form mail from the fixed form mail storage means and to transmit the fixed form mail in response to the same address as a transmitter of the received electronic mail as an absence notice when the mail attribute determining means finds the response conditions which satisfy the attributes of the received electronic mail.
According to an eleventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided a computer readable storage medium for storing a program for electronic mail processing, the program comprising:
(i) step of receiving an electronic mail;
(ii) step of setting an absence mode indicating the state of absence of a receiver of the electronic mail;
(iii) step of transmitting a predetermined fixed form mail responding to a first electronic mail received by the step (i) in the absence mode;
(iv) step of determining whether or not a second electronic mail from a receiver responding to the predetermined fixed form mail satisfies a specific condition; and
step (v) of transmitting a specific fixed form mail when it is determined by the step (iv) that the specific condition is satisfied.
According to a twelfth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a computer readable storage medium for storing a program for electronic mail processing, the program comprising:
(i) step of receiving an electronic mail;
(ii) step of setting an absence mode indicating the state of absence of a receiver of the electronic mail;
(iii) step of transmitting a predetermined fixed form mail responding to a first electronic mail received by the step (i) in the absence mode; and
(iv) step of making the step (iii) to transfer the first electronic mail to a predetermined address when the it is determined that a second electronic mail satisfies a specific condition when the second electronic mail responding to the predetermined fixed mail from a receiver of thereof is received at the step (i).
According to a thirteenth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a computer readable storage medium for storing a program for electronic mail processing, the program comprising:
(i) step of storing a plurality of fixed form mails;
(ii) step of receiving an electronic mail;
(iii) step of designating an address of a specific receiver;
(iv) step of determining whether or not a transmitter address of the received electronic mail is an address designated by the step (iii) when the electronic mail is received by the step (ii);
(v) step of selecting one of fixed form mails stored in the mail storage means based on a determination result by the step (iv) from the plurality of fixed form mails stored by the step (i); and
(vi) step of transmitting the fixed form mail selected by the step (v) to the same address as a transmitter address of the received electronic mail.
According to a fourteenth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a computer readable storage medium for storing a program for electronic mail processing, the program comprising:
(i) step of storing a plurality of fixed form mails;
(ii) step of receiving an electronic mail;
(iii) step of determining whether or not a password is included in the electronic mail when the electronic mail is received by the step (ii);
(iv) step of selecting one of fixed form mails from the plurality of fixed form mails stored by the step (i) based on a determination result by the step (iii); and
(v) step of transmitting the fixed form mail selected by the step (iv) to the same address as a transmitter address of the received electronic mail.
According to a fifteenth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a computer readable storage medium for storing a program for electronic mail processing, the program comprising:
(i) step of receiving an electronic mail;
(ii) step of designating an address of a specific receiver;
(ii) step of determining whether or not a transmitter address of the received electronic mail is the address designated by the step (ii) when the electronic mail is received by the step (i);
(iv) step of transmitting a fixed form mail to the same address as the transmitter address of the received electronic mail when a determination result by the step (iii) is not the designated address; and
(v) step of transferring the received electronic mail to a predetermined address when a determination result by the step (iii) is the designated address.
According to a sixteenth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a computer readable storage medium for storing a program for electronic mail processing, the program comprising:
(i) step of receiving an electronic mail;
(ii) step of determining whether or not a password is included in the electronic mail when the electronic mail is received by the step (i);
(iii) step of transmitting a fixed form mail to the same address as a transmitter address of the received electronic mail when the step (ii) determines that the password is not included; and
(iv) step of transferring the received electronic mail to a predetermined address when the step (ii) determines that the password is included.
According to a seventeenth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a computer readable storage medium for storing a program for electronic mail processing, the program comprising:
(i) step of receiving an electronic mail;
(ii) step of setting a specific period of time;
(iii) step of determining whether or not the electronic mail is received during the specific period of time;
(iv) step of determining whether or not the electronic mail is received during the specific period of time is a response date and time designated mail which designates the response date and time;
(v) step of determining whether or not the response date and time designated by the reception date and time designated mail is in the specific period of time; and
(vi) step of transmitting a response mail requesting for a change of the response date and time to a different response data and time except the specific period of time when the response date and time is in the specific period of time.
According to an eighteenth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a computer readable storage medium for storing a program for electronic mail processing, the program comprising:
(i) step of receiving an electronic mail;
(ii) step of setting a specific period of time;
(iii) step of determining whether or not the electronic mail is received during the specific period of time by the step (i);
(iv) step of determining whether or not the electronic mail which is determined to be received during the specific period of time by the step (iii) is a response date and time designated mail which designates the response date and time;
(v) step of determining whether or not the response date and time is in the specific period of time when the electronic mail is determined to be the response date and time designated mail by the step (iv);
(vi) step of transmitting a request for change mail requesting for a change in the response date and time to a different response data and time except the specific period of time when the response date and time determined by the step (v) is in the specific period of time;
(vii) step of changing the response date and time of the response date and time designated mail when a response mail which indicates acceptance of the request for a change is received by the step (i) after the request for change mail is transmitted by the step (vi); and
(viii) step of transferring the response date and time designated mail to a predetermined address when a response mail which refuses the request for change is received by the step (i) after the request for change mail is transmitted by the step (vi).
According to a nineteenth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a computer readable storage medium for storing a program for electronic mail processing, the program comprising:
(i) step of receiving an electronic mail;
(ii) step of setting an apparatus operation in an absence mode;
(iii) step of storing a plurality of kinds of fixed form mail to fixed form mail storage means;
(iv) step of determining attributes of the received electronic mail when the electronic mail is received by the step (i) in the absence mode set by the step (ii);
(v) step of selecting one of fixed form mails from the plurality of kinds of fixed form mail stored in the fixed form mail storage means at the step (iii) corresponding to the attributes determined by the step (iv); and
(vi) step of transmitting the fixed form mail selected by the step (v) in response to the same address as a transmitter of the received electronic mail.
According to a twentieth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a computer readable storage medium for storing a program for electronic mail processing, the program comprising:
(i) step of receiving an electronic mail;
(ii) step of setting an apparatus operation in an absence mode;
(iii) step of creating a plurality of response conditions for determining whether or not an absence notice is issued and the absence notice having a content corresponding to the plurality of response conditions;
(iv) step of storing a plurality of response conditions produced by the step (iii) and a plurality of fixed form mails constituting the absence notice corresponding to the plurality of response conditions to fixed form mail storage means;
(v) step of determining which plurality of response conditions stored in the fixed form mail storage means attributes of the received electronic mail satisfy when the electronic mail is received in the absence mode by the step (i); and
(iv) step of selecting one of fixed form mails stored in the mail storage means having a content corresponding to satisfied response conditions to read the fixed form mail from the fixed form mail storage means and to transmit the fixed form mail in response to the same address as a transmitter of the received electronic mail as an absence notice when the step (v) finds the response conditions which satisfy the attributes of the received electronic mail.
Additional objects and advantages of the present invention will be set forth in the description which follows, and in part will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the present invention.
The objects and advantages of the present invention may be realized and obtained by means of the instrumentalities and combinations particularly pointed out hereinafter.